


Welcome to Dauntless

by mysupernaturalobsessions



Series: Divergent (A Destiel AU) [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Divergent Fusion, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2016-01-02
Packaged: 2018-05-11 06:07:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5616463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysupernaturalobsessions/pseuds/mysupernaturalobsessions





	Welcome to Dauntless

Running with Dauntless was better than Castiel had imagined. It was invigorating to feel his muscles strain and hear his heartbeat race. He followed the trail of people dressed in black as they climbed the railings to the train tracks and then hefted themselves onto the platform. He jumped in the moving train with a redheaded girl dressed in black and white and they fell to the ground together, laughing. Castiel rolled up the sleeves of his grey, cotton shirt. The girl did the same with her button down.

“I’m Charlie,” she said, smiling. 

“Castiel.”

She squinted. “You stiffs sure like your funny names.”

“I’m not in Abnegation anymore,” he said. 

“Huh, I guess you’re not,” she said. “I’ll have to tone down the blunt honesty.”

“Candor is not a character flaw, no matter what your faction is.” 

Charlie winked at him and Castiel blushed. They sat near the open door and watched the city pass by. Up ahead, Castiel saw people jumping off the train onto the roof of a building a few feet away. He stood up and looked at the carts up ahead. 

“They’re jumping,” Castiel said. 

A brunette girl in blue peeked around him. “What if we don’t?”

“Then you’ll be factionless,” a low voice said gruffly. Then the boy pushed past them and threw himself off the train. 

Castiel and Charlie glanced at one another. 

“Together?” Charlie suggested. 

Castiel nodded and they ran off. The train was loud as it rushed away and rounded a corner. 

The initiates gathered together at the far end of the roof in front of an older Dauntless boy. He jumped up on the roof railing and stared down at them all. “I’m Zach. I’m going to be in charge of your training. This is the entrance to Dauntless. You chose us. Now it’s our turn to choose you. There are 32 of you here. By the end of the month, we’ll have 20. This is your first test – this is the only way into the compound. Your initiation starts now.” 

Zach gestured behind himself, where there was a hole in the ceiling of a building a few stories below. 

“You want us to jump?” someone asked. 

“Newbies first,” he smiled. “Who’s it gonna be?”

No one answered. 

Castiel shuffled on his feet and then stepped forward. “Me.”

“A stiff?” Zach’s eyes flashed eagerly. He jumped off the ledge and gestured for Castiel to go ahead.

Castiel pulled himself on the ledge in the other’s boys place and stared down. He couldn’t see through the darkness, see how far he’d fall or what would be at the bottom. The hole was crudely cut with jagged edges. Castiel closed his eyes tightly before he jumped. He clamped his mouth closed while he fell. Seconds later he landed in the net at the bottom. 

He laughed, and opened his eyes. He saw the people still on the roof, peering over the edge, but he knew they couldn’t see him. 

Someone pulled the net, drawing Castiel to one side. The boy was no older than Zach. He helped Castiel to his feet and then frowned.

“Did you get pushed?” he asked sincerely. Castiel tilted his head in confusion. “Never mind, what’s your name?” 

Castiel stuttered, hesitated. 

“Is it a hard one? You can pick something else, but you’re going to be stuck with it so make sure it’s good.”

“Umm…my name’s Cas.”

“All right, Cas. My name’s Dean. Welcome to Dauntless.” He clapped him on the shoulder and then turned him toward the group of people waiting. Cas stumbled forward and then raised his head, taking in the high ceilings and walls made of stone. The people of Dauntless cheered. He melted into the crowd, cheering along as the other jumpers made their way into the compound. 

 

Dinner that night was a feast of foods that Cas had never heard of. He sat at one of the long tables in the packed dining room between Charlie and Dean. The brunette girl from the train, Dorothy, found them and sat down across from Charlie with a sigh of relief. The other initiates followed soon after, all dressed in their new black clothes. Dean scowled down at his plate and ignored them all. 

“When do you think training starts?” Dorothy asked.

“It’s already started,” a blonde boy said. “They’re always watching you, judging you.”

Dorothy glanced pointedly at him. “And how would you know that, Balth?”

“You heard Zach,” Balth shrugged and shoved a whole hamburger patty in his mouth. He quoted with his mouth full. “This is your first test. Your initiation starts now.”

“Ugh, you’re disgusting,” Dorothy said, and turned away. “I cannot believe you chose the same faction as me.”

Charlie laughed. “You were both Erudite? That’s kinda hard to believe, for him, I mean.”

Dorothy smiled brightly. 

Balth rolled his eyes. “And let me guess. You’re Candor, disguising a general rudeness and lack of tact behind truthfulness.” 

“At least my faction’s got some social skills, and…” 

Dean slammed his hand down on the table just loud enough to interrupt her. Everyone within a five-seat radius turned to look at him. “I don’t want to hear about your old factions. You’re Dauntless, now. Act like it.” 

He stood up and walked away, posture stiff. They all watched him go and then turned back to one another, laughing awkwardly. Cas was the only one who stared after Dean, watched him pause at another table to talk to an older woman. They both glanced up at him. He flushed and looked away, embarrassed to get caught. 

“Cas?” Charlie nudged him.

“Yes?”

“I asked if you wanted to come with us. Me and Dorothy are gonna go get tattoos.”

Cas snuck another glance up at Dean. He was still watching him, though the woman was clearly talking to him. Dean’s eyes were hard. His words echoed in Cas’s head: You’re Dauntless, now. Act like it. 

Castiel nodded. “Yeah, okay.” 

They went to the large market area where clothes and jewelry and piercings were sold. Near the back the tattoo parlor was covered in sketches. Charlie hopped right into a seat in front of a large man, with a big beard. Dorothy perched on the armrest beside her. She started explaining what she wanted in detail and tracing it with her finger on her hip. 

“Yeah, hang on,” the guy said, interrupting her. He called out more loudly. “Hey, Jo, can I get a little help out here.”

Cas perked up at the name. Jo looked less than thrilled to see him. She started unloading a box of ink and Cas sidled up next to her. 

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey.”

“Do you remember me?”

“Kinda hard to forget,” Jo laughed mirthlessly. 

“I have some questions.”

“Well, I don’t have many answers,” she said, her tone clipped. “Believe me I wish I did.” 

“But you changed my results.”

Jo sighed. “You seem like a good kid, okay. All I know is what happened to you, it gets people in trouble, and it gets people killed.” 

“Why?”

Jo shrugged. “People are afraid of what they don’t know. And people like you? They’re called Divergent, because they don’t fit into a neat little box.” 

“Divergent?” Cas repeated.

“Shh,” Jo said, glancing around the shop. The three across the room weren’t paying any attention to them. “You can’t let anyone know about this.”

“Okay,” he relented. 

Jo seemed relieved at his mystified response. She smiled. “Now, do you want a tattoo or not?”


End file.
